Part I - School Policies

Attendance Policy / School Hours

The campus opens at 6:30 a.m. for childcare. Classes begin at 8:50. Any student arriving late to school must check in at the office upon arrival. As a general rule, Pinecrest students are expected to be on time each day. There are consequences for being tardy to class.

• 1-3 tardies – Warning
• 4-9 tardies – After-school detention
• 10th tardy – Suspension
• 14th tardy – Suspension/probation
• 15th tardy – Suspension/referral to Director

Regular attendance at school is necessary for academic success and, therefore, absences should be kept to a minimum. Absences for personal illness are excused. Medical, dental and other appointments should be scheduled outside of school hours. Frequent absences or tardies, for other than the above reasons, may adversely affect school grades. Any student absent ten (10) days from class in a quarter, or fifteen (15) days from class in a semester may receive a lower or failing grade in one or more subjects.  Students are responsible for making up all work missed while absent. Students absent for three days or longer must have a note from their physician. Absences due to trips are NOT excused. Students should not be taken off campus for lunch. In order to attend any after-school activity/function, students must be present for at least ½ of the day on the day of the event. Any assessment, or quarter or final exam missed during an absence may be made up only at the discretion of the teacher and/or the administration.

The school day ends at 3:30 p.m. Please do not pick up your child before class dismissal unless it is an emergency. We know that many of our parents like to “beat” the rush of traffic in the parking lots, but teachers generally have activities planned up until 3:30, and early pick-ups are extremely disruptive to the classroom.

Students arriving before 7:00 a.m. should be escorted to the front office. After arrival at school, students must remain on campus until picked up by a parent or other authorized person, unless they have written permission from their parents or guardian. After classes are dismissed, our aide at the front gate will call your child for you. Please have your numbered security card visible in the window of your vehicle. Students are released only to authorized persons holding appropriate identification. Please send a request in writing to authorize your child’s release to a person other than a parent, and have that person sign your child out in the office. Please understand that we ask for identification from you and others for the safety of your children. Always bring your identification/security code with you, and remind anyone you send in your place to do likewise. The campus closes at 6:30 p.m. A fee of $1.00 per minute is charged after this time.

We welcome parents and other visitors to our school. However, for safety reasons, we must request that all visitors report to the office before going elsewhere on campus. A
“Visitor’s Pass” is required of all guests at school. If you need to speak with a teacher, you must schedule an appointment. Teachers cannot give you the attention you deserve when they are still supervising students, especially during arrival and dismissal times.

- top -

Bus Rules

Student transportation to and from school (for those who sign up); class field trips and team sports activities is provided on Pinecrest’s own buses, which are inspected regularly by the CHP for safety.  Bus safety lessons are conducted with each class at the beginning of the year. Riding the bus is a privilege, conditional upon the student displaying good behavior and obeying bus rules. Once a child enters the school bus, the authority to manage student conduct lies with the bus driver. Pinecrest students are required to:

1. Board the bus quietly and go to your seat.
2. Remain seated at all times while the bus is in motion. Sit facing forward with your back against the seat.
3. The following behaviors are not allowed:
   • No shouting or boisterous behavior.
   • No standing or walking around.
   • No eating, drinking or gum chewing.
   • Do not adjust the windows or extend ANYTHING out of the window.
   • Do not throw objects inside the bus or in any way damage the bus or the
     property of others.
4. Promptly obey all directions of the driver.

- top -

A copy of the yearly Academic Planner is included in the August mailing and extra copies are available in the school office.  More specific events and additional activities are included in the monthly calendars published in the Pinecone newsletter. Occasionally, it is necessary to change, add or delete calendar items. We will make every attempt to notify you in advance of these changes.  Please check the monthly calendar on the Pinecrest Woodland Hills website also:  www.PinecrestSchools.com/woodlandhills

- top -

Communication

The Pinecone is published monthly from September through June, and once during the summer. A current calendar and lunch menu, as well as news from each class and information about other special events, are featured. The Pinecone is sent home with students around the first of each month. You will also regularly receive flyers on other upcoming events or announcements. You can also check for homework (grades 3rd and up), menu, calendar of events and much more on our website: www.PinecrestSchools.com/woodlandhills. Weekly progress reports go home every Friday. Please look for it.

Important:  Please make it a practice to check your child’s backpack every day. Often, flyers containing important and timely information are missed because backpacks are not
checked.  Also, please check your child’s school agenda everyday for information sent home by your child’s teacher.

- top -

Dress Code

The school recognizes that a person’s appearance is indicative of his or her positive self-image. Pinecrest Uniform Wear is mandatory daily for all Kindergarten through 8th grade students. All Elementary uniform items are available through our exclusive supplier, ABC Kids Uniforms and may be purchased on-line at www.abckidschool.com. Please note that this is a transition year and collared shirts from organized sports may be worn for this year only.

Some acceptable uniform items (bottoms, jackets, sweatshirts) may be purchased at the” school uniform collections” at stores such as Mervyn’s or Target. These additional items must match our colors exactly, with no logos. Please do not try to buy school clothes from department stores regular racks.

POLO SHIRTS with Pinecrest logo: collared, long or short-sleeve in white, forest, green, burgundy and navy. Black and gray Pinecrest polo shirts are allowed for Middle School.

PANTS and shorts must be worn at waist level. They must fit around the waist without a belt. They must fit properly at the crotch, and must match our colors exactly, with no logos. Please do not try to buy school clothes from department stores regular racks.

POLO SHIRTS WITH PINECREST LOGO: collared, long or short –sleeve in white, forest, green, burgundy and navy. Black and gray Pinecrest polo shirts are allowed for Middle School.

SWEATSHIRTS: with Pinecrest logo or in solid Pinecrest colors, with no logos or advertisements.
SOCKS/ TIGHTS: in Pinecrest attire colors
SHOES: Must be worn at all times, always with socks or tights. Shoes must have closed tie and heel; maximum heel height is one inch. Shoe laces be laced and tied properly at all times.
HAIR:
BOYS: Hair must be above the eyebrows at the face, above the ears at the side, and above the top of the shirt collar at the back.
GIRLS: Hair must be above the eyebrows at the face.
MAKE-UP: For older girls, moderate use and shades.

Additional Guidelines

No T-shirts of any kind are permitted. Socks or tights are required with all shoes, and closed-toed shoes must be worn at all times. Cowboy boots, “jelly” shoes and slick-soled shoes, sandals and any shoes with “wheels” are unsafe on playgrounds and climbing equipment, and are not allowed at school.

Tattoos of any kind, whether permanent or temporary, are not allowed on any part of the body. Body piercing is unacceptable except for one stud or small hoop (1/2 inch in diameter for safety) earring in each ear. Extreme styles are never appropriate. This includes baggy and cargo-style pants, oversized garments, short, tight or revealing apparel, unbuttoned shirts, ragged edges, holes in clothing, or visible underwear.

Baseball-style caps in solid colors, or with Pinecrest logo, and Pinecrest sports caps may be worn outdoors, only. (Wear with bill forward.)

On “Free-Dress Days,” and at all school-sponsored activities, the following items are not acceptable: Overly revealing clothes such as bare-midriff or spaghetti-strap tops; tube tops; sheer clothing; shorts, or shirts above fingertip length; tights or spandex worn as outerwear; torn or frayed clothes or hems; visible underwear; clothing or personal items that promote alcohol, drugs, gangs, profanity; sexual conduct or violence such as T-shirts with logos or ads, etc.; P.E. attire worn during the day; shirts worn as jackets; non-Pinecrest sweatshirts with logos; sandals or steel-toed shoes; heels more than one-inch high; and shoes without socks, stockings or tights.

A student in violation of the dress code will not be permitted to attend class until properly attired. If there is a question on whether a particular garment or style is acceptable. DO NOT wear the item until it has been approved by the administration, which has responsibility for decisions.

- top -

Our Emergency Preparedness Plan calls for the help of every staff member on campus, and is designed to communicate plans to the staff and students; safely evacuate children and adults from buildings and playground areas; care for the physical, emotional and medical needs of the children and staff in the first hours after an emergency; and provide for extended care of students and staff, if necessary. Both fire and earthquake drills are scheduled during the school year.

In the event of major earthquake, the following procedures will be followed:

1. When the trembling stops, and it is safe to do so, everyone will evacuate the rooms and playgrounds and move to the play field at the west end of our campus.
2. The campus will be locked and secured and only authorized persons will be admitted.
3. The children will be released through the gate on Oxnard, only to parents or persons designated on the child’s Emergency Information Card.  If you should be out of the area at the time of a major quake, the condition of roads and other services may likely prevent you from returning to Woodland Hills for a considerable time. It is therefore imperative that you designate a neighbor or friend who lives nearby to pick up your child. Be sure this person knows his or her responsibility in your absence.  Although we are prepared to get along without outside assistance for 72 hours, your child will want and need to be at home (or in a familiar place) as soon as possible. Please be sure your Emergency Information Card is always up to date; let us know immediately of any changes in your information.
4. If you will be out of the area for a period of time, and someone else will be caring for your children, please write us a note detailing the dates you will be gone, as well as the caregiver’s name, address and telephone number. Please include a copy of a power-of-attorney or temporary custody agreement, if you have one.

- top -

Temperature should be normal and there should be no vomiting for 24 hours before the child returns to school.

Parents who are notified of a child’s illness must pick up the child immediately. If a child is too ill to participate fully in the daily school program, the child should not be sent to school. There are no facilities for the care of sick children.

A Physician’s Release is mandatory for any injury that requires medical attention (stitches, head injury, fracture, orthopedic appliance usage, etc.) and any communicable disease (rashes of any kind, measles, mumps, conjunctivitis, impetigo, etc.). Students will not be allowed to return to class without a release from their physician.

- top -

Health Services

Except in an emergency, students coming to the nurse’s office must have a permission slip from their teacher. The primary responsibility of our school nurse is to give first aid and handle emergencies.

As a courtesy to parents, medications being taken by our students on a short-term or long-term basis will be given during school hours as time permits. NO GUARANTEE can be made, however, of timely administration. If it is crucial that a dose not be missed, or if time is not flexible, it important to keep the child at home until the condition has stabilized. Medications will be dispensed only with the written permission of the parent or doctor, and a daily supply MUST be brought to the health office in a pharmacy prescription container, or it cannot be administered. All medications should be picked up at the end of each week, and at NO time is any kind of medication to be carried by the student or stored in a locker, lunch box or desk.

State law prohibits nurses from making diagnoses or prescribing treatment. However, please feel free to ask questions about identification of health conditions, nutrition information, or physical activity recommendations for your child.

- top -

Cafeteria Services

Breakfast is offered to Pinecrest families from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. daily in the Wildcat Café (cafeteria). Parents are encouraged to join their children. A la Carte items are priced from 50 cents to $2.00 each. Cash is accepted (no large bills, please). Wildcat Café patrons are expected to exhibit good restaurant manners:

• Wait in turn to select breakfast items.
• Be courteous to our Café staff and to others enjoying breakfast.
• Eat quietly.
• Discard plates, cups and utensils in the trash can and wipe up spills.

Snacks such as crackers, chips, pretzels, cookies, ice cream, Icees and fruit rollers, as well as natural fruit juices, may be purchased from our Student Store. The Student Store is open daily from 10:00-10:30 AM (Nutrition) and 3:30-4:00 PM. Breakfast is served in the Cafetorium from 7:45- 8:15 AM. Snack sponsored by 5th grade student council.

A current menu is available in the office and posted in the cafeteria.

Nutritious hot lunches are prepared daily and served from the cafeteria. Our hot lunches may be charged on a yearly or monthly basis. Students purchasing occasional hot lunches must pay for the lunch, in cash, at the beginning of the school day. Bring lunch money to the office and ask the teacher to add your name to the hot lunch count for the day. (Due to the large amount of bookkeeping involved, we will not be able to accept “charge” requests for individual hot lunches.) Complimentary fresh milk is offered to all Pinecrest students each day. Do not send glass containers or food items needing microwaving or heating; microwave ovens are NOT available to students. Well-mannered eating behavior is expected at all times and students are required to clean up after themselves and discard all trash when finished eating.

- top -

Parking Lot

Please be advised that the parking lot is meant to be a “safe haven” for our students to be dropped off and picked up.  The parking lot rules and restrictions must be followed:

1. You may not park in the middle of the lot and leave your car.
2. You must walk your child across the lot if you park on the east side.
3. You must take a parking space if one is available.
4. There are areas for pulling up your car and having your child paged (south end parking lot by the nurse’s office).  Please have your security card visible in your window.  If you use our service, you must understand that it may take a few minutes to retrieve your child.  If there is a line, we expect you to wait patiently and not be rude or disrespectful to the parking lot aides or other parents. You may not park parallel in front of the Kindergarten gate to drop off your child; this ties up traffic all the way down the driveway and onto Shoup Avenue.
5. It is our joy as parents to model for our children good manners and citizenship.

- top -

Playground Rules

1. We WALK through the corridors and equipment areas.
2. We never pick up and throw rocks.
3. We don’t climb the trees.
4. We obey the rules for using the playground equipment.

Slides and Swings:

• We slide sitting down, ONLY.
• We don’t walk up the slide.
• We wait at the top for the person on the slide to go ALL THE WAY DOWN.
• We face toward the playground.
• We SIT on the swing seat.
• We don’t “twist” or “bail out.”
• We don’t climb on the chains or frames.
• We don’t push other children on the swings.
• We walk around the OUTSIDE of the mats.

• We “hang” using our arms, only—never upside down.
• We don’t crawl, sit or walk across the top.
• We climb down carefully—we don’t jump off.

• We agree on the rules before we begin the game.

• We practice catching and receiving.
• For safety, we do not play football or other chase or tag games on the asphalt.
• We DO NOT engage in wrestling, karate or Tai Kwon Do.
• We use school balls only—no hard balls or Frisbees.

• We eat our snacks here and throw away the wrappers.

- top -